Historic Athens Welcome Center — Attraction in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

The three hosts working the day we visited are the best reason to stop by this historic home. They were a great source for ideas of stuff to do. I mean, isn't that what every tourist is looking for in a welcome center? My family missed the last tour bus and still managed to see it all on foot. (Thanks again for the directions.) The assortment of pamphlets at the welcome center is worthy of mentioning. This pamphlet library was too hard to resist. I wound up carrying my huge unnecessary stack of brochures 3 miles through downtown Athens. Ha. I enjoyed the experience of walking through the home. Being surrounded by everything in the Church-Waddel-Brumby House just as it was back in 1820 makes it easier to visualize yourself there and imagine what daily life might have been like. We didn't have a chance to scan all the QR codes for the backstory. Throughout the home placed in various locations were these little QR codes you could scan with your phone to read about the original family and their furniture - now antiques. If we'd had more time for this history lesson, I would've left with a greater appreciation for the home and for why it is special. Honestly, what I saw during my 5 minutes looking around upstairs did give me a greater appreciation. I'm so grateful I was born in an era with central heating and air, electric appliances, Walmart grocery pick-up, Febreze, and lasik surgery. Some of us are just too spoiled and delicate for Georgia sans-A/C. All mom jokes aside, the Athens Welcome Center is an immersive walk through time. I recommend checking out the other historical homes too. Our day trip to Athens, GA ended on a great note and I left with more than I came. The staff at the center mentioned they're all native to Athens, so very knowledgeable folks. To experience good storytelling (not boring and quite captivating) stop by the Historic Athens Welcome Center at the Church-Waddel-Brumby House Museum. It'll be well...

Kevin was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable tour guide who was able to field all questions and make the tour an amusing, entertaining and very personal experience for me on my first visit to Athens Georgia with more questions than we had time for in an hour and a half tour. I recommend this tour to all first time Athens visitors, although I will advise that it could be physically strenuous (especially in the heat of summer) for those who are not comfortable with a hike. The terrain is not demanding, but there are some hills (although this is not San Francisco!!) and there’s a lot of walking—of course because it’s a walking tour! It would be fun to do this on scooters or by bicycle, and perhaps cover some more territory around UGA. Finally, for those who are aficionados of the 70s 80s and 90s music scene in Athens and the bands that were spawned in that environment, I highly recommend Paul Butchart’s walking tour of Athens music haunts. Paul is a very knowledgeable tour guide, as he LIVED the scene. He was present from the beginning and personally knows all the players. He was at the house parties. He was at the initial 40 Watt Club. Paul was the drummer in one of the seminal Athens bands of the 70s—The Side Effects, who toured alongside REM and Pylon up and down the East Coast in the late 70s and early 80s. And while you’re here, be sure to go to the UGA special collections museum at Baxter and N. Newton streets for the exhibit of house party...

Great fun to have an UGA student as a guide for this walking tour. She had some first hand knowledge about the area and was entertaining. Though it was a hot and sunny day, she took the time to find shade whenever possible. The tour included little things like the foundry and then pieces that the foundry made. There was some mention of how the enslaved people helped to develop the college and the city but little about their lives. One of their interns is working on finding more history about them and we look forward to learning more on our next trip. Worth the money and found a great place to...